[Plugin] SectionCutFace

TIG

Thanks for the error report...
Here's v6.2 http://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=SectionCutFace
The glitch with the COMP constant - i.e the incrementing SCUT name in all strings has been fixed.

mcmillancabinet

I just installed SectionCutFace. I get the context menu "Add SectionCut Face" but right-clicking it does nothing, other than closing the context menu. There is no dialog box to specify the paramenters, and no section cut face is generated.

After right-clicking, the following is added to the Ruby console:

Error: #<NameError: uninitialized constant TIG::SectionCutFace::COMPO>
c:/users/dave/appdata/roaming/sketchup/sketchup 2017/sketchup/plugins/sectioncutface/sectioncutface_code.rbs:1030:in dialog' c:/users/dave/appdata/roaming/sketchup/sketchup 2017/sketchup/plugins/sectioncutface/sectioncutface_code.rbs:96:in new'
c:/users/dave/appdata/roaming/sketchup/sketchup 2017/sketchup/plugins/sectioncutface/sectioncutface_start.rbs:61:in block (2 levels) in <module:SectionCutFace>' SketchUp:1:in call'

Other info: I am running Pro 17.1.174 64-bit on Windows 7. The plugin was installed using the Sketchucation ExtensionStore interface.

Dave R

@unknownuser said:

I get the context menu "Add SectionCut Face" but right-clicking it does nothing, other than closing the context menu.

You're not supposed to right click on Add SectionCut Face. You're supposed to left click on it.

TIG

Irrespective of that... did you download/install the latest update v6.2 ?
http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=613140#p613140
It fixes this issue...
It was posted in within the last hour or so...
I expect your download and problem overlapped with this update...

mcmillancabinet

Sorry, Dave R, I worded that poorly. I don't right-click the context menu item. Rather, I right-click the section cut to bring up the context menu, from which I left-click the "Add SectionCut Face" item.

Thank you, TIG. The version is 6.1. I must have just missed 6.2. However, the "Update" button for Add SectionCut Face in Extension Manager is inactive. I will try uninstalling and reinstalling.

Rich O Brien

@mcmillancabinet said:

I must have just missed 6.2. However, the "Update" button for Add SectionCut Face in Extension Manager is inactive. I will try uninstalling and reinstalling.

The Update button in SketchUp's Extension only applies to Extension Warehouse installs. You need to update using our ExtensionStore in SketchUcation Tools v3

mcmillancabinet

That did the trick, TIG. Thanks!

Looking back on this thread, I see some discussion about problems dimensioning in Layout. IE, with cut face edges hidden (as is the default), the dimensions have nothing to snap to. The proposed solution was to turn the edges on. But now this can cause problems with the new associative dimension feature, because if/when section cut faces are remade, any dimensions snapped to them "break," and stop keeping up with changes in the geometry like they're supposed to. To keep the dimensions associative, they must be snapped to the actual geometry "below" the cut face. To do this, I think, requires turning the cut faces off during dimensioning.

ArchiNector

Hey,

So I've tried pretty much every for Section Cut Face and I cannot get it to work or render at all.

I start simple with a square
Section plane and get it to a good spot
Right click Add Section Cut Face
I don't mess with the setting and keep going
Render and nothing happens, the render does not cut!

I've seen videos and read the comments when its not working and I don't seem to find the reason why.
I installed it through preference and I've checked my folder and even seeing under both scenes and styles windows!

Thank you

Dave R

It's nothing to do with this tool. Most renderers don't render section cuts. You could use Zorro to make a real cut on a section plane to get it to show in the render.

TIG

Virtually all renderers don't render SketchUp's section cuts [at least without some forethought and jiggery-pokery], but they should always render the SectionCutFace group's faces...
What is your renderer ?

I can't see all of the details in your composite-image.
However, it seems that the SketchUp model's SectionCutFace is working fine.
It's just the rendered image that looks screwed ?
A 'white' section...

Can you post an image of the model - but ensure it's View > Monochrome mode and that your current Style has back-faces set to a distinctive color - like blue...
It should not show 'blue' - the visible faces should be the default front-face color [off-white], i.e. the one used by SectionCutFace - e.g. 'Black' when displayed with its material ??

You could also attach a simple SKP for us to look at too...
[even better]...

ArchiNector

@tig said:

Virtually all renderers don't render SketchUp's section cuts [at least without some forethought and jiggery-pokery], but they should always render the SectionCutFace group's faces...
What is your renderer ?

I can't see all of the details in your composite-image.
However, it seems that the SketchUp model's SectionCutFace is working fine.
It's just the rendered image that looks screwed ?
A 'white' section...

Can you post an image of the model - but ensure it's View > Monochrome mode and that your current Style has back-faces set to a distinctive color - like blue...
It should not show 'blue' - the visible faces should be the default front-face color [off-white], i.e. the one used by SectionCutFace - e.g. 'Black' when displayed with its material ??

You could also attach a simple SKP for us to look at too...
[even better]...

Sure thing! It's been driving me nuts. I use Vray. I decided to try a test run because it was not working on an actual model.

Test_SectionCUT.skp

TIG

SCF cuts and faces fine.

But, there's a but, a big but... there are very few renderers which accept a section-cut from SketchUp and then render it.
Instead the section-cut is ignored and the original uncut form is rendered.
In your case the SCF's section-cut-face-group is slightly within that form so you will no longer see it when it's renderer.

I wrote an add-on for Podium which allows that renderer to render section-cuts and their faces.
It makes a copy of the model, cuts the model at the section-plane and deletes the unseen part, it then adds the section-cut-face.
You can then render that to show a true section-cut.
But I don't think there's anything similar for Vray.

It can be done manually...
Can copy the model, then use Zorro2 [in the PluginStore] to cut that copy at the chosen section-plane and then use SCF to add the 'solid' face you desire.
Then render it...

Revert to the original model to continue working because the copy will now only have the entities 'behind' the section-plane - the reset are deleted.

ArchiNector

Thank you TIG, I'll give it a try.

I've never use zorro but as long as it works I'll adjust

Jvenning

Does anyone have any idea why section cutface works so badly on my model. I have imported it into a designated skp file especially for taking sections to export to layout and many of the walls of the house are not being recognised leaving solid black faces throughout the rooms. Is it because the different elements (walls, floors etc) are grouped? If so is there a way around this without exploding the model.

TIG

I moved this post into this plugin's main thread, where it might get noticed.
SCF cannot take into account every users foibles.
It tries to determine what cut outlines are solid, and which are voids.
It doesn't always succeed.
If you are having problems I suggest you set it to keep all edges - even unfaced ones - all edges to be visible, and unlocked.
Then you can reform missing faces etc as needed by editing the SCF group.

I doubt that the $$ Skalp can consistently produce filled in cross-sections - as there are so many variables resulting from overlapping forms etc as to render it all be impossible...

JQL

From my experience with SectionCutFace, it only fails when I fail.

It's way better at generating faces with closed loops than Sketchup native face generation algorithm.

However, it requires perfect models to work flawlessly (if that's the case even skalp would work). For instance, if two faces of an apparent volume aren't touching each other it won't generate the Section Cut Face.

The problem is that I can't model flawlessly. It's no good, it's basically impossible to do it with my workflow. So I carry another tool when working with Section Cut Face: edgetools2, from Thomthom.

You have to follow Tig's settings suggestions and some more (I edited the rb file Tig created specifically to make changes to the default settings):

Color default: allows you to see the face and paint it at will by painting the group
Keep all edges: allows for objects that don't have thickness to generate a section cut line instead of a face
Hide edges: allows you to hide the edges that are generated between the intersection of the model with the section cut face. (Important: These should be the edges that make the SectionCutFace perimeter so these are certainly the cause for the face generation to fail).
Lock: This locks the Section Cut Face group so you can't manually edit it. You should unlock it.
Auto-Update: If a section moves this regenerates the section. I NEVER use auto-update as I use Section Cut Faces to draw and hatch details. I cannot risk loosing them. I don't mind using an update on demand though, for when I'm still not at detail stage.
**Layer:**Is the Section Cut Face group´s layer. Fundamental to organize your scenes.
Naming: This is if you want to follow a naming convention.
Scene Visibility: Helps you control in which scenes Section Cut Face's Layer is visible.

The most important is that you are able to edit the group (unlock it) and see the edges (don't hide them)

If your section cut face fails to generate the correct face you edit the group, use the inspect tool from Edgetools2 and it will display automatically gaps in the perimeter and loose edges that interfere with face generation.

If these happen your model is poorly modeled (no worries, as I said it happens to me everytime). You just have to either fix the model, which can be tiresome, or simply, fix the perimeter edges, sometimes automatically through the use of Edgetools 2.

Then you can generate the Section Cut Face, either through tracing an edge along the perimeter, or using a face generation plugin.

The only situation where Section Cut Face always misses consistently is that it generates a line on the hole of a face if that hole is created by a holecutting component. It's a shame, but understandable as, by what Tig explained, that hole is just a display effect, not a true geometric hole.

It would be cool if this could be perfect though. But as it is, Section Cut Face is THE plugin that made me change from CAD to Sketchup. It's probably the most important plugin I have in my toolset.

W56DU

It is highly anticipated that you can add a selection area to modify the profile in the next release.

dontransanjose

Hi TIG,

How may I get SectionCutFace for SU Pro 2013? I try versions 6.1 and 6.2 getting error "can't convert nil into String". I try version 2.3 failing all my other installed plugins.

Thank you very much.
dontransanjose@yahoo.com.

TIG

Can you copy paste the full error message, so I can see the line-numbers etc...

atelierpaar

Hi TIG, thanks for this great tool which I use quite often.
I guess we all spend most of our time changing/altering.
Unfortunately the setting"automatic update" slows my System down tremendously.
Would it be possible to update the section cut on demand ?
That would be really helpful.
Thanks for looking into it
Uli